A happy marital tradition is making a quiet
but conspicuous comeback. Several recent polls of newlyweds show that a growing
majority of brides are taking their groom’s surname after the wedding.
Curiously, the trend hasn’t attracted much press notice even though it has been
revealed by a wide range of researchers, including poll-takers at Harvard University,
the University of Florida, Modern Bride
magazine and the wedding planning website theknot.com. Reporting on the
findings earlier this year, Vancouver Sun
columnist Shelley Fralic wrote that the trend is “turning one of the great
hallmarks of feminism on its ear. This, 30 years after a generation of brides
defiantly held on to their maiden names in honor of their membership in the
Gloria Steinem fan club, and in defiance of a rite they deemed a centuries-old
relic of male dominance and societal oppression. … It was a cheeky way to send
the message that a wife’s identity shouldn’t be tied up in oven cleaning and
child-rearing, or as an adjunct to her husband’s lineage, so millions of
new-age feminists chucked convention, put the kids in care and entered the
workforce holding fast to their maiden name as proof of their independence and
equality.” The reversal of that newly old way can only be a source of security
for children who otherwise would have grown up asking, “How come everyone in
our family has the same last name except Mom?”